AOL thinks it may a hit on its hands with the original Web series “Connected,” a documentary series adapted from an Israeli-born TV show that has been produced in over 20 countries. For the show, which AOL announced at last year’s NewFront presentation to advertisers in New York, features footage of six New Yorkers who filmed their own lives using handheld cameras for six months. Read More »

Web publishers are feeling increasingly squeezed by the competitive ad market. Across the industry, they’re feeling pressure to either grow their audiences rapidly to keep themselves on the radar for agencies, or accept selling ads through automated channels where they might fetch lower prices. Read More »

Whipclip, a new app which debuts today, is designed to let people quickly, easily and legally share clips of TV shows while they are watching–starting with this Monday’s “Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber,” which will see the pop megastar get skewered by a roster of comics.

Whipclip is the brainchild of Richard Rosenblatt, a noted Internet entrepreneur who helped co-found Demand Media. Besides Comedy Central, Whipclip has partnered with a slew of major broadcast and cable networks Read More »

Hoops fans generated a record 54 million live video streams during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament’s first week of action. But the live streaming surge caused each year by millions of bracket-obsessed basketball junkies isn’t growing at the same rate it used to. Read More »

Online marketers are increasingly experimenting with new visual tricks and gimmicks designed to make consumers stop and take notice, if only for a second or two. Cinemagraphs — or still photographs incorporating looping video elements — are a recent example of such a tactic. Read More »

A small Brooklyn startup called Velocity Made Good is quietly building out a roster of publishing partners and paying advertisers that would be the envy of many in digital media. Sites like Business Insider and Time Inc. are running the ”Avalanche” ads, which are woven in among highlighted story images on the pubilsher’s site and expand when moused over. Read More »

The three-year old startup Ritani, which is attempting to disrupt the engagement ring business, started advertising on TV last year, including top networks like ESPN, Comedy Central, TBS and FXX through a buy executed via AOL’s video advertising technology platform Adap.tv. During the campaign, Ritani purchased ads on a dozen or so national cable networks. Over time shuffled which shows and networks it ran ads on based on how many visits its website received and how many purchases were made–just like many an online ad campaign. Read More »

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